Units.mp2
Note: Multiplayer II uses movement rates 2x higher than Classic rules. All Multiplayer Longturn games at freecivweb.org use 2x movement. Movement rates given in this document reflect the 2x rates. Quick Jump: Unit Catalogue Unit Overview Units may be classified as military units or as noncombatants which support expansion (Explorers, Settlers, Workers, and Engineers), diplomacy (the Diplomat and Spy), commerce (Caravans and Freight), and scouting (AWACS). Support of your units is one of your major expenses. Depending on your form of government, each unit may require one production point per turn; and Settlers also require one to three food points per turn. Note that autocratic governments force cities to support several units for free, which can save production points for other uses. Under representative governments, aggressive units outside your borders each cause one or two workers to become unhappy. This makes war quite expensive under representative government, since production points are required to support each unit and luxury points must be produced to calm the populace. Movement Units begin every turn with one or more movement points, depending upon their natural mobility — shown for each unit in the catalogue below. Movement points may be reduced for damaged land and sea units, in proportion to the extent of their damage. Movement points not consumed by the end of the turn are lost and cannot be stored or transferred. Sea units gain extra movement points if their civilization possesses the Lighthouse or Nuclear Power. Mounted units gain an extra movement point if a nation has Genghis Khan's Equestrian School. Finally, units who are veteran level four and up gain ⅑ of a movement point—just enough to travel one more tile, in many cases. Every action undertaken by a unit consumes movement points. This manual describes each action in the section where it is most relevant; see the index for the full list of actions. Actions require one movement point unless otherwise noted. The most basic action is movement. Units can move into any of the eight surrounding squares under fairly obvious constraints: land units are confined to land and transport vessels; ships are confined to water and waterfront cities; and aircraft ignore terrain, though they must often end their turn where they can refuel—see the description of each unit for specific restrictions. Moving one square usually consumes one movement point, and units can always move one square regardless of their wounds. Rough terrain can be more costly for land units, as detailed in the terrain catalogue. Except for Marines, Land units disembarking from ships lose all remaining movement points. Enemy units impose zones of control ''(ZoC), such that most of your units can't move from a tile adjacent to an enemy unit onto a tile that's also adjacent to an enemy unit, without first retreating onto a nonadjacent tile first. The several exceptions to this rule are: '''1.' The target tile has a friendly city, base, or unit, or 2. The moving unit ignores zones of control (e.g., Air unit, Diplomat), or 3. The enemy unit does not impose ZoC (e.g. Settler, Air unit). Land units can embark and disembark from transports whenever the transport is adjacent to land or another transport — this does not require ports or other facilities. Land units can move instantly between airports in friendly cities with the airlift action. Air units can also "airlift" themselves—considered to simply be a solo flight. Under default settings, the number of airlifts per turn an airport can participate in, is limited to the city's population divided by 3, rounded to the nearest whole number. Unit Catalogue This manual will list units somewhat chronologically. Several attributes define each unit in the following list. The Cost specifies how many production points a city must invest to build one unit. M''' is the number of '''movement points the unit gets each turn. C '''is the number of other units that it can '''carry (transport capacity). The combat statistics A''' '''attack strength, D''' '''defense strength, HP hit points, and FP firepower are all explained in the section describing Combat. Bronze Age Geographic expansion and primitive warfare require no technology. * Settlers can found new cities, improve land, and build roads. * Warriors are the most basic military unit. * The Well-Digger is unique—you can only make one. If you are unlucky and start with no water source, it can create it. Then it should be disbanded immediately to avoid high upkeep. A Well-Digger can irrigate Low-Land tiles (not Hills or Mountains), or dig a well on any tile. To dig a well, find the command in the unit's orders menu (or use '''D'o>Change Extra Target>River; Build R'oad.) A Despotic city requires '''+2 Food and +2 Prod for upkeep. THE WELL-DIGGER WILL NOT WORK IF: 1) He is outside your borders.' 2)' He reaches an Age of 10 turns, 3) You discovered Alphabet or Pottery. 4') Any player in the world discovers Writing. ''Well-Diggers are not units to fool around with. ''They are specially designed to only be useful for an unlucky nation with no water, in its first turns of existence. ''If that's not the case, then this unit will cost you more than you gain. * '''Boats '''can engage in primitive commerce, establishing early trade routes or helping to build a first wonder. Trade tech is not required for either of these, though Currency tech is required to build a wonder. Boats can easily travel on rivers, but at sea, Boats must always stay adjacent to shore. Boats may assist in transportational logistics prior to Bridge Building. These five units require only one technology to produce. * '''Workers can improve land with Irrigation, Roads, and Mines. Masonry lets Workers build Forts. Construction lets them build Fortresses and Oil Wells. Engineering lets them build Canals. Radio lets them build Airbases and Buoys, which Settlers cannot. Workers must be on a ship to build Buoys. * Horsemen provide rapid mobile offense or rapid defensive counterstrikes. Stone Age tribes are impressionable to tales. If discovered before 2500 BC, word will spread about the tribe who rides wild beasts in war. * Archers are multi-purpose offense/defense. Rather than battle a single unit to the death, Archers can also do a Ranged Attack with no risk of retaliatory damage: a single volley of arrows is fired over all enemy units on the tile, causing 1'''hp of damage to any units who are hit. (Ranged Attack is not possible on Cities or Fortresses; they provide cover from incoming arrows.) * The '''Phalanx provides heavy defense and good value. * The Trireme is good for exploring the seas, transporting, and colonizing. It also has commerce ability: it can help build a Wonder, Enter a Marketplace, or establish a Trade Route. Commerce abilities are enabled after acquiring Trade. Triremes can travel and attack on rivers, but can't make shore attacks from sea. Triremes can go out to sea, but there is risk. They must end every second turn on a shoreline, river, or in a city; or else they are lost at sea. (To avoid being lost at sea, watch the "fuel counter.") When a Trireme attacks, there are 15 rounds of combat and 15 total hitpoints lost in the battle: this may or may not result in a victor. Iron Age In the Iron Age, attack strength outpaces defense strength. Defense is difficult if not in walled cities or fortified on terrain with a defensive bonus. * For the cost, Chariots provide excellent movement and attack value. * For a higher cost, Elephants combine very high attack with mobility. * The Catapult is the strongest attack unit before gunpowder is discovered, but is slow and lacks defense * The Legion might be the most feared unit of ancient times. Though slow, they combine high attack with good defense. They are famous for their discipline and engineering skills — they can build roads in non-domestic territory (and inside bases), and construct Forts and Fortresses. * The Longboat is the first offensive naval unit. Though it has no commerce ability, it is not restricted at sea. It can reign terror on other sea units, including other longboats. Longboats can travel and attack on rivers and make shore attacks from sea. When making attacks, there are 15 rounds of combat and 15 total hitpoints lost in the battle, which may or may not result in a victor. Besides establishing an Embassy, your Diplomat can attempt to bribe or incite rebellion, and can perform espionage and sabotage; see Diplomacy. Diplomats have no upkeep and are not subject to Zones of Control. Age of Exploration *'Explorers' treat all terrain as roads: each move expends only ⅓ move. Explorers are not subject to Zones of Control and have no upkeep. *'Galleys' upgrade the Trireme. They are the all-purpose sea unit of ancient times. They have decent attack and defense, transport ability, and are unrestricted at sea. Like the Trireme, Commerce abilities are enabled after acquiring Trade: they can build wonders, enter marketplaces, and establish Trade Routes. Galleys can travel and attack on rivers, but cannot do shore attacks from sea. Like most ancient sea units, when making attacks, there are 15 rounds of combat and 15 total hitpoints lost in the battle, which may or may not result in a victor. *'War' Galleys have improved offense, defense, and cargo capacity over the Galley, but lack commerce abilities. They are the premier warship of ancient times. War Galleys can travel and attack on rivers, and also make shore attacks from the sea. Like most ancient sea units, when making attacks, there are 15 rounds of combat and 15 total hitpoints lost in the battle, which may or may not result in a victor. *The Ram Ship is an offensive weapon with only one purpose: destroying other ships. It can't make shore attacks. It has poor vision, no transport or commerce ability, and can't travel on rivers. Unlike other ancient ships, there is always a victor in battle. Ram Ships are good counterstrike units for nations not invested in sea techs. They are also good at the role of "heavy-first-hitter" when larger fleets engage in battle. Each Caravan can carry 30 production points to contribute toward a Wonder in any city with whom you are not at war. They can establish Trade Routes with foreign cities and also enter foreign cities with marketplaces for a one time sale of goods. Caravans have no upkeep. Feudal Age Feudalism and Chivalry advance military power. * Pikemen are like a Phalanx that's doubly effective against mounted units. * Knights defend well against other mounted units and their noble status allows them to attack cities without population reduction. * Crusaders use weaponry that gives an attack advantage that can make a life-or-death difference in attacking against Knights and Pikemen, but this weaponry is not as good for defending. *The Caravel offers greater capacity and speed than the Galley it upgrades. It represents a significant naval advance in combat, speed, range, and transport capability. Its utility in all the above replaces many ancient sea units. Caravels provide most of the commerce abilities of the earlier Galley, but cannot build Wonders. Caravels can travel and attack on rivers, or make shore attacks from the sea. Like most ancient sea units, when it initiates an attack, there will be 15 rounds of combat and 15 total hitpoints lost between both units. This may or may not result in the loss of one of the units. Age of Gunpowder Magnetism replaces the Caravel with two ships: the high capacity Galleon and the heavily armed Frigate. Both can travel rivers. *The Galleon is an armed transport ship that can carry up to 4 land units. Galleons can travel and attack on rivers, and make shore attacks from sea. When it initiates combat there will be 15 rounds of combat and 15 total hitpoints lost between both units. This will usually result in the survival of the Galleon, as it has 20hp. This makes the Galleon especially durable when attacked by older sea units, and a reliable transport. Galleons and all more modern units are subject to Stack-Escape. *The Frigate is a versatile and powerful ship that is both a superior offensive unit and a decent transport ship. The Frigate is the last ship which can travel and attack on rivers. From Frigates onward, all sea attacks end with a single victor. The Frigate and all future warships are formidable at making shore attacks from sea. Frigates and all more modern units are subject to Stack-Escape. *The Ironclad upgrades the Frigate. It is an armored ship that is much more sturdy than the Frigate but loses transport capability and the ability to navigate rivers. From Ironclad onward, all warships can attack Balloons, Helicopters, and pillage Buoys. Ironclads and all more modern units are subject to Stack-Escape. The advent of Gunpowder and the advances which follow make earlier combat units struggle to compete. The new units follow roughly the Bronze Age pattern of heavy defense, multi-purpose offense/defense, and heavy offense. Chemistry and Explosives give new technological possibilities. * Balloons can cross enemy borders with impunity, using their excellent vision to gather critical intelligence, then return to refuel at a city, fortress, airbase, or ship with cargo capacity of 4 or higher. They cannot cross Mountains. The Balloon is unreachable by primitive land and sea units, but can be attacked by land units from Riflemen onward, and by sea units from Ironclad onward. ''Once rifles are invented, using Balloons for military scouting becomes perilous. ''The Balloon does not block attacks on any other units on the same tile. * Engineers move and work twice as fast as Workers or Settlers and offer more ways to transform land. The Industrial Age The Galleon, Frigate, and Ironclad are replaced by more powerful versions. These and all later ships get improved vision. They can't travel on rivers; however, these and all more modern units are subject to Stack-Escape. The Cargo Ship is the only modern ship that can travel on rivers and do Commerce unit functions. * The Destroyer's range and vision make it preferred for Submarine hunting. The Submarine and the Destroyer usually kill each other when attacking, but lose when defending—creating a deadly game of hide and seek. * Riflemen are foot soldiers with greater attack than defense strength for the first time since the ancient Legions. * Cavalry are an improvement over Dragoons. * Fanatics can almost be thought of as half priced Riflemen with no upkeep. They can only be produced by Fundamentalist governments. Though their attack is slightly less than Riflemen, their cost is much lower, and their fervent faith prevents them from being bribed. Under Fundamentalism, they can be directed to do Skirmish Assaults in their homeland. This does three free rounds of combat to degrade occupying units. *'Alpine Troops', like Explorers, expend only one-third of a movement point to move one square regardless of terrain; this makes Alpine Troops a powerful unit in mountainous regions. Changes in government and ideology create new models of citizenship. * Pilgrims give Fundamentalist governments an alternative to rapture growth. Under divine edict, population from faster growing cities can be transferred to other cities, accelerating population growth. Like Fanatics, Pilgrims do not incur upkeep costs in food or shields while under a Fundamentalist government. * Proletarians can be ordered by the Communist state from one city to another, which transfers population. They can also be ordered to the same tasks as Workers. Large numbers of Proletarians can be rapidly gathered to complete State projects. Both trade and diplomacy gain mobility. * Spies are capable of more actions than Diplomats; they can be given more precise orders, and often survive and can be reused. Spies have no upkeep. * Freight is capable of moving farther and faster to establish Wonders or Trade Routes. Modern Technology Two new warships offer less mobility but vastly enhanced firepower. They can't travel on rivers. * The Cruiser is the first of all warships with firepower 2, a dominant warship that remains strong for a long time to come. Cruisers are subject to Stack-Escape. * The Battleship is the largest most durable and dominant warship ever made, and for this reason can still keep some relevance even in the late game when more advanced techs appear, if used for special purposes. Battleships are subject to Stack-Escape. * The Submarine compensates its weak defense by stealth — it is invisible to units or cities not immediately adjacent. Unlike other ships, it cannot attack Land units, but it can carry missiles. It has an artificially high 12 attack value that gives it enough move points after an attack to perform "hit-and-run." This gets equalized by an anti-Submarine bonus for many advanced warships. If grouped in numbers, Submarines are deadly effective against all surface ships in the game. The Submarine's ability to submerge makes it unreachable by aircraft or missile attack; however, it will not protect other units on the same tile from such attacks. ''Submarines are subject to Stack-Escape. * '''Marines' fight their country's battles on air and land and sea. Marines are the most powerful foot units in the game. They are the only land units who can attack directly from ships, instead of needing to land on shore first. Armed with a variety of diverse and powerful weaponry, they can even attack Sea units (at a penalty.) They can disembark without losing all their moves, and can board and attack from Helicopters, Carriers, and Transports. No unit can block a Marine from attacking a Land or Sea unit that it's normally capable of reaching. Elite veteran-3 Marines are promoted to Ranger with a 250% veteran bonus, and battle training allows even higher bonuses, making high-vet Marines ideal as "special ops" forces. This is facilitated by a city with Barracks III, Airport, and Port Facility combined: Marines made in such a city come out as vet-2 hardened. The ability to attack more targets from almost anywhere makes Marines suited for high risk special ops. Marines can't attack Submarines, Missiles, or Aircraft. * The Partisan behaves like an armed Explorer, treating all terrain as roads and thus requiring only ⅓ '''movement point to move 1 tile. Some cities will generate them when conquered (see details page). Partisans live off the native land and have no upkeep. Partisans are not subject to Zones of Control. * '''Artillery gets increased accuracy and a large boost to firepower, and is much stronger than a cannon. With Flight, combat takes to the air. * Fighters need fuel to avoid crashing and thus must end every turn in a city, on a Carrier or an Airbase. Aircraft can attack ground units, but most ground units can't retaliate. They can't conquer undefended enemy cities. Like all Fighter-types in all MP rulesets, the Fighter prevents land and sea units from attacking the tile it is on. Fighters, like all aircraft, are subject to Stack-Escape. * Anti-'Aircraft' Artillery are an exception: they are light-weight guns that can attack almost anything from anywhere, but their primary use is to support ground units against Air units. (AAA can't attack Submarines, Missiles, Jet Bombers, or Stealth aircraft.) High Technology * The Escort Fighter has larger size for more range, more speed, and more damage absorption; but is less maneuverable for pursuing attacks. Its longer range and ability to stay in the air 2 turns make it well-suited for escorting bombers, longer range scouting with attacks on poorly defended targets, and defensive ground support requiring longer periods in the air. Like all Fighter-types in all MP rulesets, the Escort Fighter prevents land and sea units from attacking the tile it is on. ''Like all aircraft, they are subject to Stack-Escape. * The '''Medium' Bomber is the first bomber. It can stay in the air longer than Fighters and take out stronger ground targets. The higher cost of the Heavy Bomber makes the Medium Bomber an option even after Heavy Bombers become available. ''NOTE: In MP2, Bombers are no longer forced to lose their turn and remain stuck in the air after a single attack''. The Medium Bomber is unreachable by most land and sea units but doesn't block attacks on other units on the same tile. ''Like all aircraft, they are subject to Stack-Escape. * The '''Missile' Destroyer upgrades the Destroyer for late game action. Firepower is boosted to 2'''. To a lesser degree than its big brother the AEGIS, it has Missile interceptor systems which double defensive effectiveness against Air & Missile units. The ability to carry one Cruise Missile completes the enhancements. Like all modern ships, they are subject to Stack-Escape. * The defense strength of the '''AEGIS Cruiser is multiplied by 3 when attacked by aircraft, helicopters, and missiles. AEGIS Cruisers are the only ship which can directly attack an adjacent air unit. This unit also has the best vision of any combat unit in the game. Like all modern ships, they are subject to Stack-Escape. * The Carrier arguably claims the throne from the Battleship as the new King of the Seas. It can't really attack, but the ability to carry up to 8 Air units is quite formidable. Carried units may be any mixture of any type of Fighters, Bombers, Helicopters, Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Marines, AWACS, or Missiles. Carriers are subject to Stack-Escape. The final generation of ground forces offers the familiar choice between heavy attack strength and defense capability. * Armor is the fastest moving offensive unit on land. Its ability to break through forts at no penalty enables it to penetrate broken battle lines to seize advantage. Fortresses' 2x defense bonus is reduced to 1.67x. * Mechanized Infantry offer the best defense of any land unit in the game. This combines with superior mobility, good value, and moderate offensive capability, to provide a mainstay of late game armies. * When attacking cities, the Howitzer negates any defense advantage that would be offered by city walls. * Paratroopers can be paradropped from friendly cities or airbases, allowing long range actions; they have a range of 14 tiles, and may move immediately after being paradropped. Paradropping requires the unit to have its full move points remaining. * Unlike other airborne units, the Helicopter can conquer an undefended enemy city. Though they do not have to end their turn inside a friendly city, fortress, or airbase, it will cost two hit points if they do not. They can be attacked by ground units from riflemen onward, and by sea units from Ironclad onward. Helicopters are able to carry one Marines or one Anti-Aircraft Artillery unit. In MP2, Helicopters are no longer forced to remain stuck in the air after making a single attack. ''Like all aircraft, they are subject to Stack-Escape. * '''Heavy' Bombers can end one turn aloft before returning to a city, carrier, or airbase to refuel. They are Field Units which cause Unhappiness in their Home City. '' In MP2, Bombers are no longer forced to remain stuck in the air after a single attack. Like all aircraft, they are subject to Stack-Escape. * '''AWACS' offers greatly enlarged vision. Both units are unreachable by most land and sea units but do not block attacks on other units on the same tile. ''Like all aircraft, they are subject to Stack-Escape. * '''Atom' Bombs destroy everything within a 3x3 grid of their impact area, but cause nuclear fallout which can increase chances of causing nuclear winter. They must be loaded on a Heavy Bomber or better Bomber, then unloaded ('dropped'), then detonated. *'Strategic' Bombers offer slight upgrade to attack, high altitude to even the odds against Fighters, and much longer range for strategic missions. Like all aircraft, they are subject to Stack-Escape. *To survive, Cruise Missiles must end each turn in a city, Carrier, Submarine or airbase. They are always destroyed when they finally attack. Unreachable units can never block them from attacking reachable surface targets on the same tile. 'The Space Age' Jet aircraft bring improvement to range and strength. * The Nuclear Missile offers the capacities of the Atom Bomb with self-propulsion, unreachability by other units, and greater range--making a deadly upgrade to an already deadly unit. * Armor II features high tech composite armor and electronic countermeasures (ECM). Forts and Fortresses gain no bonus against its ability to blast and break through fortifications. Composite materials and ECM frustrate missile sensors and offer improved impact resistance, giving 2x defense against missiles. Armor II can attack any reachable unit regardless of whether unreachable units are protecting the tile. While it lacks the raw firepower of a Howitzer, the above abilities combine with superior movement to open up ultra-modern tactics. * The Jet Fighter's balanced strength makes it an excellent multipurpose unit. Like all Fighter-types in all MP rulesets, the Jet Fighter prevents land and sea units from attacking the tile it is on. ''Like all aircraft, they are subject to Stack-Escape. * The '''Jet' Bomber has 3 turns of fuel and can spend 2 turn changes in the air. Saturation bombing enables it to pillage enemy tiles. This prolongs its tactical use after Stealth is discovered. The Jet Bomber's stratospheric altitude makes it unreachable by AAA and propeller-based Fighters. In MP2, Bombers are no longer forced to remain stuck in the air after a single attack. The Jet Bomber is unreachable by most land and sea units but doesn't block attacks on other units on the same tile. ''Like all aircraft, they are subject to Stack-Escape. The final military advances produce stealth aircraft. They offer greater strength and long range, and are invisible to enemy units and cities except when in an adjacent square. Unlike other Air units, their stealthy "radar invisibility" makes them suffer only a 1.25x defence penalty against SAM batteries. ''Like all Fighter-types in all MP rulesets, the Stealth Fighter prevents Land and most Sea units from attacking the tile it is on. ''The Stealth Bomber is unreachable by most Land and Sea units, but doesn't block attacks on other units on the same tile. ''In MP2, Bombers are no longer forced to remain stuck in the air after a single attack.'' ''Like all aircraft, both are subject to Stack-Escape.